PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has developed into a well tolerated and viable option when deceased donor transplantation is not available. Transplant and advanced hepatobiliary surgeons from around the world have performed living donor hepatectomies consistently for decades with acceptable donor outcomes. However, optimizing the preoperative workup, donor selection, operative technique, and perioperative care will improve these outcomes. This manuscript reviews recent worldwide literature for the living liver donor...

Lung transplantation (LT) increases the life expectancy of patients affected by end stage pulmonary disease; specifically, its ultimate aims are to improve survival and health related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of the present longitudinal study was to determine the HRQoL trajectory and changes in functional capacity from time of entry in the waiting list for LT to 2 year after LT. The study included sixty-nine outpatients enrolled in a single medical center when they entered the waiting list for LT and who subsequently received it...

Background: Cost-utility analyses for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) require health state utility values (HSUVs) in order to calculate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for each health state. Aim: This study reviewed AML-related HSUVs that could be used in economic evaluation studies. Materials and methods: EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane databases were searched from January 2000 to November 2016 for relevant studies that reported quality of life (QoL) and HSUVs in AML...

BACKGROUND: The United Network for Organ Sharing system allocates deceased donor kidneys based on the kidney donor profile index (KDPI), stratified as (sequence A≤20%, B>20-<35%, C≥35-≤85%, D>85%), with increasing KDPI associated with decreased graft survival. While health-related quality of life (HRQOL) may improve after transplantation, the effect of donor kidney quality, reflected by KDPI sequence, on post-transplant HRQOL has not been reported. METHODS: HRQOL was measured using the eight scales and physical and mental component summaries (PCS, MCS) of the SF-36® Health Survey...

BACKGROUND: Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage kidney disease. In a previous review we concluded that the routine use of ureteric stents in kidney transplantation reduces the incidence of major urological complications (MUC). Unfortunately, this reduction appears to lead to a concomitant rise in urinary tract infections (UTI). For kidney recipients UTI is now the commonest post-transplant complication. This represents a considerable risk to the immunosuppressed transplant recipient, particularly in the era of increased immunologically challenging transplants...

OBJECTIVES: To assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across three renal replacement therapy modalities (preemptive transplant, non-preemptive transplant, and dialysis) in comparison with the healthy norm and other chronic health conditions, and to explore related patient factors. STUDY DESIGN: All prevalent end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients aged 8-18 years who spent at least 6 months on their current treatment modality in the Netherlands, Belgium, and part of Germany were approached to complete the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4...

Background Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, making advance care planning (ACP) and management especially important in this patient population. A paucity of data exists on the utilization of ACP amongst allogeneic HCT recipients, and the relationship between ACP and intensity of health care utilization in these patients. Methods We performed a retrospective review of patients receiving allogeneic HCT at our institution from 2008 to 2015 who had subsequently died following HCT...

Improved understanding of sex and gender-specific differences in the aetiology, mechanisms and epidemiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD) could help nephrologists better address the needs of their patients. Population-based studies indicate that CKD epidemiology differs by sex, affecting more women than men, especially with regard to stage G3 CKD. The effects of longer life expectancy on the natural decline of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with age, as well as potential overdiagnosis of CKD through the inappropriate use of GFR equations, might be in part responsible for the greater prevalence of CKD in women...

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a potentially curative treatment for children and adults with malignant and non-malignant diseases. Despite increasing survival rates, long-term morbidity following HCT is substantial. Neurocognitive dysfunction is a serious cause of morbidity, yet little is known about neurocognitive dysfunction following HCT. To address this gap, collaborative efforts of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research and the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation undertook an expert review of neurocognitive dysfunction following HCT...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to synthesize recent literature regarding the provision of palliative care to patients during and following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), highlighting factors which mediate impairments in health-related quality of life in this patient population, and the intervention approaches and models of care delivery that clinicians can consider to address unmet needs for palliative care and to strengthen patient and family resiliency...

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a long-term condition requiring treatment such as conservative management, kidney transplantation or dialysis. To optimise the volume of fluid removed during dialysis (to avoid underhydration or overhydration), people are assigned a 'target weight', which is commonly assessed using clinical methods, such as weight gain between dialysis sessions, pre- and post-dialysis blood pressure and patient-reported symptoms. However, these methods are not precise, and measurement devices based on bioimpedance technology are increasingly used in dialysis centres...

Hurler syndrome (HS) is a lysosomal storage disease characterized by multisystem morbidity and death in early childhood. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) results in long-term survival, although with significant residual disease burden. How this residual disease affects the health-related quality of life is unknown. Therefore, we conducted a multicenter cohort study on functional and psychosocial health and compared the outcomes to normative data using the Child Health Questionnaire and Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument...

Matched-related bone marrow transplantation (BMT) may cure >80% of low-risk children with severe thalassemia (ST). Very long-term follow-up studies have shown how the standard busulfan-cyclophosphamide (BuCy) regimen may be associated with normalization of health-related quality of life, no second malignancies in the absence of chronic graft-versus-host disease, and fertility preservation in many patients. However, because BuCy may be associated with high rejection rates, some centers incorporate thiotepa (Tt) in busulfan- or treosulfan-based regimens, a combination that may increase the risk of permanent infertility...

OBJECTIVES: The literature offers very few in-depth reports on the time directly before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Also, researchers have focused on selected aspects of psychophysical well-being and treated the sample as homogeneous. Thus, we chose to investigate distinct multidimensional well-being profiles (including anxiety, depressive symptoms, and health-related quality of life [HRQOL] domains) among patients just before HSCT, as well as profile predictors (generalized self-efficacy) and outcomes (transplant appraisal) based on the transactional stress model...

BACKGROUND: Perceived control has been associated with improved mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cardiac populations. However, this concept has not been well-studied in heart transplant groups. AIMS: We examine the relationship of perceived control to symptoms of anxiety and depression and HRQOL after transplant. We also examine the extent to which anxiety and depressive symptoms mediate the relationship between perceived control and HRQOL...

OBJECTIVE: A high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among transplant recipients has been associated with a low adherence to treatment and poor survival. It is crucial to detect and prevent the development of posttraumatic stress in transplant settings. METHODS: We examined the prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms in 3 liver transplant recipients by means of the Essen Trauma Inventory (ETI), a self-report questionnaire. The Short Form-36 was used to assess the perceived health-related quality of life...

PURPOSE: The aims of this study are to investigate the feasibility of an exercise program commencing 60 days following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT), to investigate changes in physical function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients from pre- to post-alloSCT and to explore changes in patient outcomes before and after the program. METHODS: This study is a single site, prospective case series including 43 adults undergoing alloSCT...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) depending on dental and periodontal health of different patients before and after liver transplantation (pre- and postLTx) compared to a healthy control group (HC). METHODS: OHRQoL was rated using the German short form of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP G14). To estimate dental health, the decayed (D-T), missing (M-T), and filled (F-T) teeth index (DMF-T) was used...

BACKGROUND: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective treatment for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. In short-term the treatment has been shown to be safe, however, there are no large, long-term follow-up studies looking into the potential adverse effects. AIM: To analyse the long-term effect of FMT treatment in patients with recurrent C. difficile infection and to compare the outcome to antibiotic treated patients. METHODS: Altogether 84 patients of which 45 received a FMT treatment and 39 served as controls receiving antibiotics for the infection were followed on average for 3...

Consensus statements on the selection of lung transplant candidates have consistently identified older age as a relative contraindication to transplantation. A combination of population-level demographic changes, revision of the lung allocation score (LAS), and clearer data on outcomes in elderly transplant recipients has, however, driven a steady increase in the threshold at which age is taken into consideration. This article reviews the current state of lung transplantation in elderly patients with an emphasis on the factors that have increased lung transplantation in older age groups, their expected outcomes including survival and health-related quality of life, and the factors that go in to appropriate candidate and procedure selection in this population...